1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to file transfer and, more particularly, to a method of downloading Java beans over the Internet from a remote server to a local client system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Java is a platform independent and a fully object oriented programming language. Java is also flexible and easy to use on any operating system. Due to these attributes, Java is often used to program applications made available over the Internet. Java includes a wealth of frameworks, class libraries and a new programming environment intended to greatly enhance application software development on the internet. This new programming environment can be referred to as the "Java bean".
A "Java bean" or bean is the most extensively used API (application program interface) in Java programming. It is the tool that provides application developers with the framework for reusable, embeddable, modular software components. The bean is the basic object unit; it can range from a simple individual component object to an extensive combination of objects providing a whole application program. That is, the Java bean model provides commonality and interoperability with other beans to form a combination component or a composite bean. These beans and/or composite beans can be GUI (graphics user interface) widgets, non-visual functions, services, applets and more full-scale applications. Java beans and their common properties and functions are described in detail in the text, "Java in a Nutshell", 2nd. Edition by David Flanagan, published by O'Reilly and Assoc. Inc., California, 1997.
Developers have routinely downloaded Java beans over the internet from remote servers to local client systems. However, several steps had to be followed before the beans were actually used. For example, the developers had to (1) download the beans, (2) instantiate the class or classes that are in the beans and (3) use the beans within their own program.
Thus, a need exists to simplify the manner of using beans resident on a remote server in a program at a local client system.